Leaves

When I was a kid, I loved raking leaves into a huge pile and jumping into it. The bigger the pile, the better. My sister and I would spend all fracking day raking our entire yard into one ginormous pile. Even if it meant having to rake all the leaves from the backyard into the front yard, we would do it if it meant having a bigger pile.

One year, we even raked our neighbors' yards, gathered up all their leaves into tarps, and transported them all into our yard to make an even bigger jumping pile. Finally, we had created a massive pile of crunchy leaves that would cushion your fall as you bounded into them. It was amazing.

The giant pile ended up staying there for a while, and the grass underneath was definitely damaged by the time we carted all those leaves away. My parents were not that amused at this.

Now, years later, I no longer find as much joy in raking leaves, especially when I have to do it every day in the cold weather for work. Today, we raked up a pile that was quintupled the size of the biggest pile I made at home.

If I were still a twelve-year-old girl, it would be leaf heaven for me. The pile was huge. It was like a mini-mountain range of millions and millions of leaves. You could create a whole new world in that thing. Tunnels, bridges, homes... The thing was huge.

Yet, while ten years ago I would have been literally jumping for joy into that new leaf world, I could only look at that pile today with dread. We ended up having to painstakingly move all those leaves into the street so it could be picked up by a monstrous vaccuum and transported far away from Ymount Terrace. Now I never want to look at another leaf again.


Happy Autumn, everyone!

"Glints of Gold." Hannah Johnson 2009

Listening to: Alex Goot's Cover of Jack's Mannequin's "Dark Blue"
Blessings: Gloves, Boss's Chilli, and Gavin for giving me a ride to campus.
Things Going on Today: There's an audition today for "Rise Up Shepherd" and I'm trying out I think. Also making a cake for my coworkers in honor of Halloween tonight.